Black King, White Queen
by I He She
Summary: Years after he retrieved the stolen Elstone with his friends, Elsword disappeared, leaving a letter in which he said just "I'll be back". Then, years later, he appears in front of Eve, but he's not the same person he was before. Friendships will be broken and blood will be shed, in the name of the love of a corrupted knight who didn't give up his soul.
1. The Dark Knight

**Aisha - Elemental Master**

**Elsword - Infinity Sword**

**Rena - Night Watcher**

**Raven - Veteran Commander**

**Eve - Code Nemesis**

**Chung - Deadly Chaser**

* * *

Many years have passed since Elsword and his friends ended their adventure. Their group disbanded almost completely, but they kept in contact with each other. Eve went to Altera and settled there, trying to restore the Core and revive her race once more. Chung returned to his country, but soon realized he got too used to travel to stay in the same place for long time. He started to travel around the world, looking for new experiences. Aisha, togheter with Rena, bought a tower in the forest near the capital of Verdel, and she surprised everyone who knew her by taking an apprentice. Raven went back to the capital, and there he founded a new mercenary group, which was hired by the king to protect the city, like he did before the loss of his arm. Elsword, instead, got a job as a knight of the army.

Things, however, weren't going as well as it looked. Elsword's behavior was slowly changing. He was getting more and more... aggressive. Sometimes he was seen walking alone in the night, leaving the town, with noone knowing where he was going or what he was doing. Then, suddenly, he disappeared, leaving only a letter in which he said:

"I'll be back. Don't look for me"

Aisha tried to find him for at least a month, without results. Then Chung went to visit her, with the purpose of reassuring her.

"You have an apprentice to take care of. I, instead, do nothing but wander all the time. I think it's better if I look for Elsword for you while you stay at your tower. I'll inform you as soon as I find him"

This helped the magician to calm down. Chung started his journey again, this time with a clear goal. But even this brought no results.

Eve, Raven and Rena, instead, weren't really worried. They knew Elsword's strenght well, and believed him to be able to look after himself. But as time went on, they began to worry as well. It was then, five years after his disappearance, that something happened. Four of them received a letter from him, a letter in which he stated he was going to get marriend, and told them to go to Altera so that he could introduce them to his wife. This left them completely dumbfounded. Chung wondered about how did a letter reached him, since he didn't had a fixed abode, but he didn't bothered himself too much thinking about it.

Eve didn't receive any letter.

* * *

She was taking a walk in the forest. She felt like something strange was in the air, like an unpleasant presence staring at her. Then, a voice she hadn't heard in a long time called out to her.

"Eve"

She turned to him.

"... Elsword... ?"

It was him, without a doubt. But there was something strange about him. His sword was gone. Also, he was wearing a black armor, similar to the one he used years ago, but more... aggressive. His hair was almost completely black, and his eyes were dyed with the color of the night. But there was something else about him that impresssed Eve.

"It has been really a long time since we last met. You haven't changed a bit"

"Nasods don't age"

"Yeah, I know. I was just stating the obvious"

"Where have you been for all these years? And why do you look so young?"

He really looked young. Too young. Almost as when they retrieved the Elstone.

"Where, you ask..."

At that moment, a small, dark gate opened in the air right before him. He reached into it with his hand and pulled out... two crowns, very similar to each other. Two chiselled, bone-made crowns which both resembed a diadem.

"I was building my kingdom. I'm pretty much done with that, but i still can't wear one of these. There is one thing I'm still missing"

Elsword bowed towards her, outstretching his left hand and offering her one of the crowns.

"Come with me, Eve. Where the sun never rises and the moon is always dyed with the color of blood"

She realized that the presence she felt before was right in front of her.

* * *

Chung, Raven, Rena and Aisha were going to Altera togheterd. Chung was chatting with Rena about his travels. Raven, instead, was talking with Aisha. He was curious about her apprentice, but he never really got a chance to ask her about him - it was a boy - until now.

They had many things they wanted to ask Elsword about, but they were happy that he reappeared after all those years.

That happiness would have been shattered soon.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**This is the first fanfiction I write.**

**Also, it's the first time I write something this long in english (it's not my first language), and it's harder than I expected. If you find some serious error in the grammar, please point them out.**

**Wait next chapters for explanations about what happened to Elsword (and M-rated stuff as well).**


	2. The Kidnapped Queen

**Chapter 2**

"... what did you just say?"

"Become mine, Eve. For all eternity"

"Eternity? That word sounds quite meaningless, said by a human"

The Nasod Queen turned his back to Elsword and started to walk away. She stopped when she heard a sound almost forgotten. The sound of swords being summoned. She took a look behind her, and saw the knight standing, a blade in each hand, the crowns nowhere to be seen. Those swords were Cornwells, without a doubt. But, like their owner, they were different. They were black, not red like they used to be, and their blades were serrated.

"I wouldn't like to take you back by force. I might end up hurting you"

"Then you just have to watch me walk away. Walk away alone, I mean"

"That's something I would dislike even more"

He pointed one of his weapons at her.

"For the last time, Eve. Come with me"

Her battle drones, Moby and Reby, took position in front of her as she turned again to face Elsword.

"... I guess you are not joking"

"I'll try not to harm you too much"

"How kind"

He closed the distance in less than a blink of an eye. His first strike was blocked by a spear appeared out of the air. His second blow was stopped by Moby, while Reby changed shape into a sword. He jumped back to avoid the incoming hit, but then Eve's weapons turned into a machinegun bigger than Elsword's Cornwells. She pulled the trigger and emptied the cartridge almost instantly. The bullets, howerer, were all blocked by a wall of swords appeared before their target. The blades then turned to Eve and flew towards her. She jumped to the side and shot three electron balls at her opponet, who sliced them and closed in once again. With her drones turned into claws, she crossed blades with Elsword al least a dozen times before a kick in the stomach made her waver an istant. The knight let go of one of his blades and grabbed Eve's shoulder, pushing her on the ground. But, before he could do anything, a whip wrapped itself on his leg. With all her strength, Eve sent Elsword flying first against a tree and then on the ground, but the second time he managed to land safely and cut the lash enveloping his limb.

They stopped and stared at each other. Elsword was enjoying the fight, but Eve was worried. Moby had been damaged, and it would have probably stopped working within half an hour, unless it took more hits. In that case, it wouldn't have lasted for more than five minutes.

"Shall we resume?" asked the knight.

Before he could receive an answer, several spears appeared out of the air, aiming at him. He jumped back, but when he looked for Eve, he couldn't find her.

_Did she run away? No, they would have warned me. Then she must have turned invisible._

While scanning his surroundings, he took a defensive stance. He heard a sound behind him and turned immediately, but nothing happened. Then, a twin pronged spear, wrapped in electricity, appeared at his back. He turned again at blinding speed, but didn't dodge or blocked the upcoming strike, which pierced his guts. He smiled.

"Wha... "

He outstretched his hand, grabbing something. As soon as his fingers touched Eve's arm, which was olding the spear, she turned visible again. Without paying any attentions to his wound, which was very serious, he destroyed Reby, which was turning into another weapon, in a single, powerful blow, and throwed Eve against a tree with so much strenght that she almost fainted.

"Why... why didn't you dodge it...?" she asked, while trying to catch her breath.

"It's simple".

Blood was dripping from his wound, dirtying his armor. He took the spear out of his body with astonishing indifference. This made him cough up some blood. He breaked the spear in half with a single strike of his black Cornwell.

"Because there was nothing to dodge"

Something black, which resembled mist, came out of his wound, which started to heal. In a minute, his injury was reduced to a scar.

Eve was speechless.

"You said that, told by a human, "eternity" sound weird. But I'm not a human anymore"

* * *

They were walking when, suddendly, Rena told them to stop.

"What's wrong?" asked Aisha.

"Someone's watching us"

She took out her bow and scanned the trees around them. Then she shot an arrow in front of her. Something clearly moved to avoid the blow. They all dashed, chasing after the retreating spy. It was fast, but not enough. They would have caught it up within a moment, but, suddenly, they felt like they went through a thin waterfall.

"... a barrier?" spoke Aisha.

They kept moving, and arrived immediatly in a small glade. There, Elsword was standing.

* * *

"... Elsword?"

He turned. When he saw them, a sincere smile formed on his face.

"Guys! It had been so long since last time we met! How are you doing?"

He was acting so naturally, and he was so cheerful, that it took a whole moment for them to notice he was holding Eve, who was unconscious, in his arms.

A massive, stoon-made door appeared out of the ground, at Elsword's back.

"I'd really like to stay a while and talk with you, but I have a marriage to organize"

Someone opened the door from the other side. It was a tall, well-shaped man, wearing a plate armor. His face was marked by three scars, but what was most striking was... that he had horns. That, and his blood-dyed eyes.

"I'll come visit you within the week, so don't worry"

He moved a step towards the door, when Raven spoke.

"Wait a moment, Elsword. Where are you going with Eve? And why is she unconscious?"

He waited a moment before asking what was worrying him the most.

"... and why are you covered in blood?"

"I'll explain that next time, now I really am in a hurry. See you soon!"

Saying that, he disappeared inside the door, without leaving them the time to do anything. Before the man closed the door, howerer, they could see, even if just for a moment, what was on the othed side: a towering, gloomy castle, and a crimson-stained moon.

The door disappeared, leaving them there, wondering what happened some moments ago right before their eyes.

* * *

******Author's notes**

**So, second chapter finished.**

**Regarding the battle, I tried to put in it as many references to their in-game abilities as I could, and (knowledge allowing) I'll do the same every time one of them fights.**

**Explanations about what happened to Elsword delayed to next chapter.**


	3. Old Friends

**Chapter 3**

Eve was lying on a bed when she woke up. It was a large, splendid, black bed, in the middle of an even more magnificent room made of stone, full of decoration and dimly lit by some flame-shaped lamps. There was only one door, apparently made of black steel, and two large windows.

She stood up. Her clothes were quite ruined, probably due to her fight with Elsword. There was a mirror in the room, so she decided to take a look at herself. She noticed she was wearing a white, silky ribbon around her neck. It was shining faintly. She tried to take it off, but without results. She could feel it was creating some sort of interference which prevented her from summoning her weapons. With that thing on, and with both Moby and Reby gone, she was almost completely defenseless.

She walked over to the windows. The evening sky was dominated by a red moon which shone many times stronger than the one she was used to use, thought it was still weaker than the sun. The room she was in was probably inside some sort of palace, because there were al least fifty meters between her and the ground, where she could see what looked like a small village. She noticed a red castle at the horizon. Then she heard the door opening, and turned to see Elsword walking in, carrying a white dress whose style resembled the one of Eve's clothes. He wasn't wearing his armor, but a black outfit with golden decoration which made him look almost royal.

"Do you like the view?" he asked while closing the door behind him.

"Where are we?"

"I think you can call this place the demon world. And right now, we're in my castle"

"I have a few things I want to ask you"

"I'm really sorry, but there are some urgent business I must deal with in this moment" he ansewed placing the dress on the bed. He then left the room, leaving the door ajar.

She looked at the white dress. Her clothes were ruined, so she was somewhat obliged to wear it, even though she didn't like the idea. However, the dress was very comfortable and, truth be told, she liked it. She wondered why it was white. Then she looked at the door.

_Is he telling me to go out?_

She took the invitation and stepped out of the room, entering a long and quite gloomy hallway. There, someone was waiting for her. He had horns, so he clearly wasn't human. His eyes were crimson, and there were three scars on his face, but he was... quite handsome. His tallness was emphasized by Eve's shortness. He wore a plate armor, and carried a great shield and a two-handed axe on his back.

When she approached him, he bowed, leaving her quite confused.

"My lord ordered me to escort you"

"Where?"

"Wherever you wish"

"Then take me outside"

"He ordered me not to let you out of the castle as well"

She began to walk down the hallway, followed by an unusual bodyguard.

* * *

He heard someone knocking at the door. When he opened it, he was greeted by Aisha.

"Hello, Raven"

"Hello. Come in"

She sat down at the table while Raven was taking a bottle of what probably was wine and a pair of glasses.

It had been two days since they met Elsword in the forest near Altera.

They talked about trivial things until the person they were waiting for knocked at the door. It was Elsword. He was wearing some casual clothes. He took a seat at the table.

"How are you doing?"

"Fine, I think" answered Aisha. They weren't as cheerful as Elsword.

"I'd like to ask you some questions, but first... what happened two days ago?"

Raven was worried.

"Nothing special. I just brought Eve home. I'd like to show my place to you, but one of my neighbors is being quite loud lately"

"... neighbors?"

"Yeah. He's an annoying hothead"

_Look who's talking... _Raven and Aisha tought.

"What about the blood on your armor back then?"

"It was mine. We had a little fight, and i got hit"

"With that much blood loss a person wouldn't be able to stand"

"But I'm not a person"

"What?"

"However, I came because I wanted to invite you to my wedding"

"With who?"

"Eve, obviously"

"She never told us about this"

"Well, I was planning to tell it to her today or tomorrow"

"Are you joking?"

"Why would I?"

They fell silent for almost a minute. Then Elsword got up.

"I'd like to stay a while longer, but I still have to talk with Chung, and I have to deal with that hothead as well"

Raven got up as well.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing. I'm the same knight I was five years ago"

He patted his stomach where Eve's spear stabbed him.

"Just a bit stronger. Aisha, can you talk with Rena in my place? I don't think I have enough time to do that myself, and... are you okay? You're trembling"

"Y... yes. Don't worry"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's nothing, really"

"... if you say so"

Just like he arrived, he left.

Raven turned to Aisha. She really was shaking.

"What's wrong?"

"Elsword... he..."

"Did you notice something?"

"Do you remember when he took the dark El inside his body to fully master Cornwell? That time I felt him being... corrupted. But it lasted only a few moments. He wasn't overcome by the dark El's energy. But now his presence... it's the same of an archdemon"

"... what do you mean?"

He already knew the answer.

"I think... I think he couldn't resist to the darkness he took into his body anymore"

Which was, basically, what they had always feared.

"But there's something I don't understand" the sorceress said.

"What?"

"The dark El... it shouldn't be enough to bring him to that level of evil presence. I mean, his air isn't even completely black, which means he's not totally corrupted. There must be something else"

"But... what?"

"... I have no idea what it could be"

* * *

The sun was setting. Chung sat on his bazooka, eating dried meat. When he heard the sound of someone approaching he took out one of his guns.

"Hey, hey. It's me"

Elsword came out of the shadow of a tree. Perhaps literally.

"You disappeared without even telling us where you were going. Now you finally come back, and what do you do? You kidnap Eve. What the hell are you doing?"

"I didn't kidnap her"

He sat on the ground.

"I just took her to our home"

"... "our"...?"

"Yes. But why do you care?"

"She's my friend. How could I care not about her?"

"I didn't know it was possible to remain friend with someone who rejected you after you confessed your love to her"

Chung stood up.

"What did you say?"

"You told us that you got too used to travel to stay in the same place for long, right? The truth is that you couldn't stand living where Eve rejected you and, since you had no other place to go, you began living as a nomad"

"... how do you know that?"

"I happened to be near when you confessed to her. It was before we found the Elstone, right? By the way, I also heard what happened after she rejected you"

"Shut up"

"It was your first time, I guess"

"Shut up"

"You know, I think she did it because she pitied you"

"Shut up!"

"However, her moans of pleasure were very nice"

"I told you to shut up!"

A bullet grazed Elsword's head. The knight smiled

"I came here to invite you to my wedding, but now I think it would be cruel of me"

He stood up.

"I don't think we'll meet again, Chung. Farewell"

He walked away, disappearing in the shadows of the forest.

_There's no way I'll let you take Eve, Elsword. Even though she already rejected me._

* * *

******Author's notes**

**And third's finished too. Yeah.**

**I've nothing to say about this, so... see you at chapter four.  
**


	4. Preparations

**Chapter 4**

That place was much different from how she expected it to be. She visited the kitchens, the armory and the tailoring - she didn't expected a place like that to be in that castle, even though there was only one tailor, who was the one who made the dress she was wearing - . No room was lit very well. Lots of grim statues adorned the black castle, which was estremely large. There were many windows, and by looking out she noticed the fortress she was in was the heart of a small city, enclosed by great defensive walls.

She met several demons during her walk, and none of them was as human-shaped as the one following her, who was probably a general, judgind by how everyone behaved in front of him. Still, those demons were way less aggressive than she expected. She could have mistook them for humans, if only they didn't look like... well, like what they actually were. Talking with them was almost comfortable. Almost. Still, there was one thing which confused her. Every single demon, without exception, called her mistress. She was in what looked like a dinner room when someone called her by her name, from behind. It was Elsword.

"You can go" he said to Eve's bodyguard, who bowed to both of them and left the room "Do you like the castle?"

"It's quite gloomy"

"I thought you would like this kind of architecture"

"... it's not unpleasant"

She began to walk, and the knight followed her. They went down at least half a dozen flights of stairs before one of them spoke again.

"Why do the demons here address me as mistress?"

"Because you'll become it soon"

"What do you..."

Then she heard screams coming out of a huge door, closed by three padlocks.

"... what's behind that door?"

"The torture chambers"

"So you also have something like that"

"Sometimes I use one of them to let my stress out. But I don't think I'll go there very often from now on"

"Why?"

He approached her and brought her face close to his.

"Because after our marriage I'll spend that time with you. In our bedroom"

A mighty slap sent Elsword flying. He landed three or four meters away. Eve was blushing.

"This brings back memories. And hurts as well" he said while getting up "This is the second time you slap me"

"Say something like that again, and I'll slap you until all your teeths are gone"

He laughed. Then a trickle of blood came out of his mouth. He placed an hand where Eve'e spear pierced him two days before. He was bleeding, and he almost lost his balance. Eve ran to his side and helped him to stand.

"I thought that wound was closed"

"Truth be told, I wanted to amaze you, that's why I closed it immediatly, but I can't heal that fast. Not from an injury like this. It should take half a week to close. Well, I've been really busy lately and I still haven't got a chance to rest, so it will probably take twice the time"

"... so you're not immortal"

"That would make life boring, wouldn't it?"

"... maybe you're right"

He turned his face to her. They were really close.

"But you know, thank to this wound I could see you worry about me"

"... shut up"

* * *

Aisha had fallen asleep while reading. A small orb of light floating above her illuminated the place. On the table she was sitting at were piled two dozens of books, in addition to those resting on the ground. She was inside a great library, in her tower. It was night.

Rena walked in, silent as only an elf can be, and put a blanket on the sleeping sorceress, before taking a look at the books. Most of them were about El shards, while some dealed with purification. There was even a book about demons. She went to her room and stared at the stars, pondering what Aisha told her about hers and Raven's meeting with Elsword, occurred the day before.

The sun was already high in the sky when Aisha woke up.

... _so I fell asleep..._

She was sleepy enough not to notice the blanket, which fell on the floor when she stood up. She left the library and went to the kitchen, where both her apprentice and Rena were eating. It was probably lunch.

"Ah, teacher. Good afternoon"

Afternoon. Which meant it really was lunch.

"Ah, good afternoon, Sennar. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"We were about to do it" answered Rena.

Sennar was a boy in his twenties, with long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes, wearing a white and blue robe and carrying a long, ebony-made staff on his back. He was an orphan who went to Aisha and asked her to teach him magic when he was only twelve years old. She would have probably turned him down in he had no talents at all. Eleven years passed since he started studying under her guide, and he would have probably left the tower soon to become independent both as a person and as a magician.

They had lunch together, then Rena and Sennar went to the city to do some shopping. Aisha was walking back to the library when she perceived someone approaching the tower. There was a barrier around the building which advised her of people's movement within a certain radius from her home. It was a relatively low-ranked magic, mainly because it took long time to be prepared, but once finished it could last for some weeks. If casted by an ordinary magician. She, however, was powerful enough to make it last for several months. Still, she renewed it two times a year.

The one approaching was Chung. She went down to greet him.

"It's unusual to see you around here at this time of the year"

"I have a favor to ask you, Aisha"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I want to go where Elsword brought Eve, and you're the only one I know who can help me to get there. I'm going to bring her back"

* * *

Elsword was sitting on his throne, which was great, black and dragon-shaped. Next to his was another throne, empty, very similar to the first one but white. In front of Elsword were four human-shaped demons, each one sitting on a different-colored, dragon-shaped throne, each one the projection of someone far away. Two of them were women.

"So you're going to get married" one of the two man said.

"Yeah. I would like to invite you all, but you probably don't have enough time to come all the way here for a wedding"

"Obviously" he responded

"Don't forget to keep your job done" spoke the other man.

"Don't worry"

"There's no way I won't worry about you. You're strong, I recognize it, but you joined us only three years ago. You still lack experience"

"That's true" said one of the two women "but you can't deny he did great this far"

"You know" the last one spoke "the last time an human joined us was more than five thousands of years ago, way before we got to sit where we are now. Onestly, I find your presence here quite entertaining"

"... is that a compliment?"

"It was just a statement"

Then they starded to talk about how things were going in the areas under their responsibility. After two whole hours, the five of them decided to end their meeting. They dismissed each other, and the four of them disappeared. Elsword stood up and walked toward Eve, who had been watching the whole time.

"Who were them?"

"Workmates"

"And what kind of work do you do in this place?"

"I'll tell you when you'll stop trying to leave this place."

"I can't continue my researches here"

"Give me four more days, and that won't be true anymore"

"What do you mean?"

At that moment an horned demon, the one who escorted Eve inside the castle, entered the room.

"Excuse me, my lord..."

"What's wrong, Seliet?"**  
**

"You're going to be late if you don't depart now"

"Oh, right. The other meeting. Prepare an incubus"

"As you wish" he answered leaving the room.

"You seem really busy"

"I am"

He walked past her.

"Oh, I almost forgot"

Eve turned to him but, before she could say a single word, Elsword kissed her. It lasted only for a moment. She tried to slap him, but this time he grasped her hand with his before she could hit him.

"I don't get hit twice in the same way that easily"

Then he walked away, this time without turning back.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**Fourth out. I had more trouble writing this (I mean, with the grammar), so I'm worried there might be more errors than there were in the previous chapters, even though I checked the text twice.**

**If things go on as I planned (which never happens), the next chapter will be a bit more lively.**


	5. Before the Storm

**Chapter 5**

Rena heard rumors about noises coming from the old stronghold where they fought King Nasod years ago. This gave her a bad feeling, so she decided to go there to check if something was really happening. It took her a day and a half to get to Altera. It was night when she entered the old building. She knew Eve settled there, but since they always met outside, she didn't knew how she kept the inside of the building. Well, it didn't look like someone had been living there for years, honestly. Everything was covered by the dust, there were cracks on the walls and debris on the floor. After less than five minutes of walk she started hearing some noises. She walked over the direction they were coming from, silent as the shadows in which she was walking. She reached the room of the Core. It was very large, and it was twelve stories high. The remains of both the Core and the Nasod King where on the bottom of the room, the first ones somewhat repaired, the second ones disassembled. It was probably Eve's doing. However, on the bottom of the room was a great, black, stone-made door. No. It was so big, that calling it the gate of a castle would be more appropriate. Around it, about thirty demons were taking the remains of the Core and of the Nasod King to the other side of the gate, being careful not to damage them. They were all vargo, like the ones Rena and the others fought many years ago. All but the one directing the others, who looked almost completely human, except for a pair of horns. She recognized him. He was the same demon they saw standing in the doorway when Elsword took Eve away.

She had no idea why they were taking those things away, but since they were demons, it was probably better to stop them. She was three floors above them. The lack of plants, and even of soil, was a disadvantage for her, but she could probably take care of them all despite that. She studied their movements for a while, then she began to take them down. All it took was an arrow in the throath, when one of them was away from the others. But, after the third one, the horned demon noticed what was happening. When she shot the fourth arrow, it was blocked by the commander's shield. He ordered the others to take cover and to watch each other's back while scannig the point the arrow came from. Rena, however, was no longer there. She was running in the shadows, ready to strike again. Two of her arrows got blocked, but four more took down as many more demons. She was about to release the tenth shoot when the horned demon popped out from behind a part of the Nasod King, charging at her. In the same istant his soldiers began to move to surround her. She shot at him, but he blocked it with his shield and stroke a blow with his great axe. She graced it and kicked him on the face and on the chest, using his body to jump back. But her opponent didn't falter and closed the distance once again. Rena avoided two strike from the axe and one from the shield, took out her sword and stabbed his leg between the plates of his armor and, taking advantage of his waver, went past him, leaving behind her a small orb of wind which exploded as soon as she got out of its reach. The horned demon blocked the windstorm with his shield, but one of his lungs got pierced by an arrow from behind. He coughed up blood, then turned around and saw Rena, enveloped by a stream of wind, passing near five of his soldiers at blinding speed. The demons dropped on the floor, dead, their throats cut.

Without hesitation, the other soldiers charged at her, but she was way too fast for them. She ran over to their captain. He readied himself, timed his upcoming strike and delivered a mighty blow to Rena. She dodged it, kicked his injured leg with enough strenght to make him fall on his knee and readied her sword, aiming at his head. But, when the tip of her sword touched the demon's head, someone grasped her arm, blocking her strike. She turned, but her neck got grabbed by the hand of someone she didn't expect to see there.

"... my lord... ?"

"Elsword?"

He lifted her, but he wasn't strangling her. He was just preventing her from getting away.

"You're lucky, Seliet. I came here on a whim, but it looks like I arrived just in time"

He turned to the other demons, who were bowing at him.

"One of you help the general. Seven of you bring the corpses back. Leave them in the warehouse for now, we'll bury them later. The others go back to what they were doing. I'll deal with this woman myself"

The demons followed his orders.

"I have no excuses, my lord" apologised Seliet.

"Normally I would tell you to train yourself more, but your opponent was formidabile. I'll let it slide this time. Now go back and heal your wounds"

"As you wish"

"... what's the meaning of this, Elsword?" asked Rena.

"I'm the one asking you that" he answered while walking away from his soldiers, still holding her above the ground.

"If there were only vargo I could have understood, but you saw Seliet before, didn't you? You should have figured out they were my subordinates. Killing them was rude"

He let go of her neck. They were far enough not to be heard.

"What do you need those things fom?"

"They're a present"

"A... present?"

"I still have a few things I must take care of, so I'll be going now. Next time, try not to kill my soldiers. I need them" he said turning back.

"... you have changed, Elsword"

"No, I didn't. It's just that you see me in a different way"

They parted, Elsword somewhat happy to have met and old friend, Rena worried about someone she wasn't sure she could still call friend.

* * *

They were all there, inside Aisha and Rena's tower. A great, empty, circular room lit by several light orbs floating in the air. An extremely complex magic circle was drawn on the floor, on the walls and on the ceiling. At the centre of the room was a pillar of blue light.

"Are you sure it will work?" asked Raven.

"Honestly, no" answered Aisha.

The plan was simple. Rena and Chung would enter the castle and find Eve without getting noticed and bring her back at the tower. Elsword would surely go after them to try to take her away once again. They would lure him into that room, and then Aisha would take the corrupted El out of his body. If everything went smoothly, Elsword would go back to how he was before. There were still lots of things they didn't know, but Aisha said that, if they wanted to separate the dark El from Elsword's body, they had to do it as soon as possible.

The sorceress gave Chung and Rena several small glass beads. Some were transparent, while others were opaque.

"Crash one of the transparent ones to be brought into the demon world. Crash one of the opaque ones to get back here. I did my best with finding a safe place for you to appear once on the other side, but I can't promise you it won't be a dangerous area"

"Don't worry" answered Rena.

"We'll bring her back"

"Good luck"

They held each other's hand to prevent appearing in different places and broke one of the transparent beads. A flash of light enveloped them. One moment later, they were gone. Aisha and Raven stared at the empty place their friends were standing a few seconds ago. They could do nothing but wait for them to come back.

* * *

**********Author's notes**

**Fifth chapter out. Writing this story is more entertaining than I expected. I hope you like it as well.**


	6. Waking the Sleeping Dragon

**Chapter 6**

They appeared in the shadow of a leafless tree. In the sky was a red moon which dimly lit the landscape. Rena could easily see through the darkness, but Chung had to wear his helmet to be able to properly see his surroundings. They were inside the edge of a forest made of dead trees. At least, that is what it looked like at first sight. Those trees weren't dead. There were strange-looking fruits growing on their branches. They didn't know how could plants grow there, since the ground was dried and cracked, almost like they were inside a desert, but they didn't really care about that. Above the masts they could see the silhouette of a great, gloomy castle. They began to walk towards it, careful not to be seen or heard, even though it looked like there was noone there besides the two of them.

It took them more time than they expected to reach the end of the forest. And there, they saw a wall, probably around fifteen meters tall, surrounding the castle. On top of the wall were several soldiers patrolling the perimeter. They were too many. Climb over the wall would have been easy, but doing it without getting spotted was nearly impossible. Also, judging by the distance between the castle and the wall, there was probably a village between the two of them.

They inspected the walls for a while, but, except for two gates with from five to ten guards each, they found nothing. Getting in through one of the main entrances wasn't a good idea. They pondered what to do, then Chung began to talk.

"How much time do you need to climb that wall, Rena?"

"Five seconds at most, I think"

"Ok. I'll distract the guards on top of it. Take advantage of that chance and get inside"

"We should switch roles. You left your Destoyer at the tower. You can't fight at your best without it. Besides, you're more used than me at moving between and inside the buildings"

"... you're right"

Chung didn't realize it, but he smiled slightly at the thought of meeting Eve alone. Rena didn't notice it.

"Don't worry. If things get really bad, I'll go back to the tower"

"Ok"

They parted. Rena went near one of the gates and analyzed the situation. There were seven demonds in front of the closed entrance, plus the ones on the walls. Hiding behind a rock near the road which lead to the gate, she took out her bow, aimed and shooted an arrow. It pierced one of the soldiers's head. The others immediatly took cover. One of them, maybe the captain of that group, shouted something at the ones over the walls. Some readyed their bows, but more went down. When she counted a good number of them coming down to scour the area, Rena retired, making sure to be seen. The demons chased after her. As soon as they were far enough, Chung got under the wall, aimed a small gun - it wasn't one of his two Silver Shooters - and shooted a grapple which stuck fourteen meters above him. The cable rewinded on his own, lifting Chung. When he reached the grapple, he got on the top of the walls by jumpimp, using a small prominence as a support, and, without stopping, jumped again to the other side, sliding down the wall, using the same gun he used to climb up to slow down his fall. The whole process took about ten seconds. He feared he had been to slow, but he heard noone moving around there. Probably they were all focusing on Rena.

As soon as he touched the ground, he felt... uneasiness? No, it was more like nausea. He paid it no mind, and quickly surveyed the area. He was inside a small city. Actually, it was as small as a village, but the buildings, made of black stone, were more similar to the ones of a city: from two floors to seven or eight stories tall, with the smaller ones near the walls and the bigger ones close to the castle. Some windows were lit by the inside, but most weren't. Chung couldn't tell the difference, but maybe it was night. He walked down the small roads, paying the most attention to every small noise around him. There were some lanterns here and there to illuminate the roads, but, despite that, he could easily move without leaving the shadows. He stopped near a crossroads, when he heard some footsteps. A small group of demons, all of which weren't human-shaped, came out of a rather noisy building. Could that possibly be a tavern? They stopped at the roadside and chatted for almost ten minutes before parting. Two of them were going to walk near Chung, who retreated to avoid being noticed. Once the demons were far enough from him he restarted to walk. He reached the castle without other drawbacks, which was strange. He went to look at the main entrance. It was unguarded. It was like the outside surveillance was the only one. However, he didn't dare to get in from the main entrance. He circled the castle, looking for the best wall to climb. Now that he looked carefully at it, the shape of the castle was extraordinarily irregular. It's base was something between a circle and a pentagon, and every wall was full of anomalous recesses and protrusions the size of a room. Truth be told, that made it quite easy to climb.

He noticed the nausea he felt before had become stronger.

* * *

Nights there were awkwards. Elsword didn't let her sleep somewhere different from his bedroom, but she clearly refused to sleep in the same bed with him. After hearing that, Elsword simply began to sleep on the floor, saying that it was not a problem for him. It made Eve feel uneasy. However, he wasn't there that night. She couldn't sleep. Maybe it was because she had lived alone for several years, but she found out sleeping in the same room with someone was pleasant. For a moment she thought it could have been even nicer if they both slept in the bed, but she drove that thinking away. Then someone knocked at the door. She got dressed - she was wearing only her underwear - and walked over to the door. It was Elsword.

"Did I wake you up?"

"No"

"There is something I want to show you"

"What is it?"

"Come with me"

A bit reluctant, Eve followed him. He led her to a great room, where Eve saw... everything she was working on in Altera.

"What... ?"

She went to check if something was missing or damaged, but everything was there, methodically ordered, and nothing was more damaged than it was the last time she saw it.

"Do you need something else? For you researches, I mean" asked Elsword.

"You brought these here for me?"

"Well, the ones who carried it all here were the soldiers, I didn't have enough time to do it myself. But yes, I brought these here for you"

"... thank you"

"You're welcome. Also, there is something else..."

In that moment, a demon walked in and told something to Elsword, who then turned to Eve.

"Something came up. I'll see you later. There is one more thing you must see"

He then began to walk away. But, before leaving the room, he told her:

"Oh, I almost forgot. There is a box at the end of the room. Give it a look"

He then left, closing the door behind him. Eve went to look for that box, and soon found it. She opened it.

"These are... Moby's and Reby's remains"

They were all there. With those, she could repair them in a day or two. There was also a note inside the box. She took it. A single line was written on it.

"I'm sorry for breaking them"

_Maybe he's not that bad, after all..._

* * *

Aisha and Raven were eating something in the kitchen.

"Now that I think about it... where is your apprentice?"

"He's out doing some errands. He shouldn't be back before tomorrow evening"

"I see"

Then Aisha felt someone else's presence inside the tower.

"They're back"

They both got up and went to the circular room. Rena was there, shaking off some dirty from her clothes.

"...you're alone?"

"Where is Chung? And Eve?" asked Raven.

"Chung and I parted out of a great wall which surrounded the castle, I distracted the guards to let Chung get inside. I handled them for some time, but I got back as soon as I saw Elsword looking for me"

* * *

"It seems she's disappeared, my lord. We can't find her anywhere"

"... tell everyone to go back to the village"

"As you command"

He looked at one of the arrow he took out of one of his soldiers's head.

_It was doubtless Rena. ... yeah, Aisha should be able to send people from one world to the other. But why coming all the way here just to go back this way..._

He suddenly turned to his castle.

_No, it can't be!_

* * *

Eve was walking back to her room. She decided to repair her two drones the following morning and to restart working on her research after both Moby and Reby had been repaired. She was going up a flight of stairs when someone called out to her.

"E... Eve... "

She turned.

"Chung?! What..."

She wanted to ask him how he got there and why, though she could figure out by herself the answer to the second question, but she stopped. Not only he was extremely pale, but he was also sweating and out of breath. He was leaning against a wall, his helmet in his right hand.

"I found you, finally"

He was about to walk over to her when another voice spoke.

"Stay away from her, Chung"

They both turned to Elsword.

"I can't say I'm pleased to see you"

"Me neither"

After a short moment spent staring at each other, Elsword said:

"You should go back. You'll die if you stay here any longer"

"I wasn't planning to remain here much longer anyway"

He threw two grenades on the floor, which both exploded in a dazzling flash of light which temporarily blinded Eve. During that moment, Chung ran over to her and outstretched his hand, but got caught by Elsword, who managed to block the light off with his arms.

"Did you think something like this could fool me?"

In that moment, the grenades exploded again, this time for real. Chung and Eve got some damage, but Elsword's body shielded them by taking most of the explosion on himself. The knight got kicked back by the chaser, who grabbed the still blinded queen and broke one of the opaque glass beads. A small flash of light, weak if compared to that of Chung's grenades, enveloped them for a moment, but, before disappearing, Eve's necklace shone intensely for a brief istant.

When they reappeared inside the tower, they were both unconscious.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**And the sixth chapter is done. I hope I can finish this before school starts, but I've planned to make some big mess happen to Elsword and Eve before the story ends, and so I'm not sure I'll be able to reach the conclusion so soon.**

**See you at chapter seven.**


	7. Heartbeats

**Chapter 7**

Aisha, Raven and Rena found Chung and Eve lying on the floor. Eve seemed fine, but Chung was in an horrible state. Aisha bent down to look at him closely.

"... this is some sort of curse"

Raven ensured Eve was uninjured and carried her to Rena's room, while the elf helped the sorceress to bring Chung to her room, where Aisha tried to heal him. Meanwhile, Rena went to her room to talk with Raven.

"How is Eve?"

"She's fine, but..." he pointed at her necklace "that ribbon is shining intermittently. I tried to take it off, but it's like stuck on her skin"

Rena looked at it, but could do nothing to remove it. Then Aisha walked in. They both turned to her.

"And Chung?"

"I can't say he's fine, but the curse wasn't cast on him. I removed most of its effects, he'll be almost completely alright when he wakes up. And Eve?"

They showed her the necklace.

"This thing... I can't believe Elsword could make an enchanted artifact of this level. Even I would need al least some months to craft something this powerful"

"He has had five years to prepare it" spoke Raven.

"You're saying he had already planned to kidnap her?"

He didn't answer.

* * *

"I'll be out for a while, Seliet. Until I come back, the castle and the village are in your hands"

"My lord..."

He stopped when he saw Elsword's gaze.

"... as you command"

Eve's necklace was telling him her position, thought it was being somewhat vague. It was probably inside some sort of barrier. He hadn't healed from the explosion yet, when he walked through a stone-made door appeared from the floor. It disappeared after he crossed it. He reappeared inside a forest, near the tower Aisha and Rena lived in.

"I guess it's not that easy to open a gate inside a sorceress's residence"

He began to walk.

* * *

Aisha trembled for a moment.

"He's here"

"Sooner than I expected" commented Raven.

"I'll stay in the library, right below the room I prepared, and cast the spell, but it will take some time. I need you two to hold him inside there for a while"

"Got it"

"Try not to damage the room to much"

"Ok"

They parted. Rena went down the stair, to the entrance of the tower. She found Elsword coming inside, after having broke down the door. They looked at each other for a moment.

"Where is she?"

"... follow me"

She walked back on the stairs, with the knight following her. She led him inside a great, empty, circular room. Several orbs of light were floating in the air, illuminating the place. Raven was at the centre of the room.

"Hello, Elsword"

"Where is Eve?"

"Don't be rush" he answered while taking out his sword "Do you remember the last time whe had a duel? It sure was many years ago"

"I don't have time for this, Raven"

"You have no choice"

"... "

Two Cornwells appeared from nowhere. Elsword grabbed them and took his stance. Raven did the same. Rena put some space between her and those two, keeping herself ready to intervene.

The two warriors stared at each other, closing the distance step by step. The first one to strike was Elsword. He delivered two blows. Raven blocked the first one with his left arm and dodged the other, then he sent a stab to Elsword's leg. He took a step back to avoid it and tried to hit Raven with the pommel of his sword. Raven eluded it, grabbed Elsword's arm with his nasod limb and lift him above his head, then immediatly threw him to the ground, without letting his arm go. Elsword managed to land and kicked Raven's leg, making him lose his balance, turned and prepared to deliver a thrust, with five flying Cornwells appeared from the air ready to mimic his attack. With not enough time to get back on his feet, Raven steadied himself. The six swords all hit the same point of his opponent's sword. He was pushed a couple of meters back. Elsword closed in to him again. Their weapons crossed again about ten times, then Raven's mechanical hand began to emit flames. He enveloped his sword in fire and sent a powerful strike from below, followed by two more blows. Elsword blocked them, but lost contact with the floor for a moment. Raven kicked him back and pointed his arm at him. A storm of flaming bullets erupted from his palm. Several swords appeared in front of Elsword to protect him. Then Raven's arm pierced through the wall of weapons, grabbed the knight by his shoulder and threw his on the ground with tremendous strength. With his back still injured by Chung's grenades, Elsword coughed up blood. Raven's sword went for his shoulder. The knight defended himself with his swords and sent three flying Cornwells towards Raven, who retreated to avoid them. Elsword got back on his feet.

Once again, they were staring at each other. Then Elsword relaxed and let his swords go. They disappeared.

"You're not a person I can overwhelm without getting serious, Raven. At least, not when injured"

_Injured?_

The sheath of Elsword's unlimited amount of swords appeared in front of him. But it was... different. There was a serrated blade on it, and an handle was present at the opposite end of the tip. He grabbed it with his right hand. A sword appeared inside it, and he took it with left hand.

"Can I ask you a favor, before we start again?"

"What?"

"Don't die. Not too soon"

He swinged the sheat towards Raven. For a moment, a gate got opened in the air, and from it appeared at least thirty swords, all of which went flying towards Raven and the area around him with amazing speed. With not enough time to be surprised, Raven blocked al the swords aimed directly at him, then started to run to avoid the second wave. He had to block the third one, but the fourth one left some wounds of him. After the fifth and before the sixth one he steadied himself and pointed his arm at Elsword once again. A raging hell of flames and bullets erupted from his arm, enveloping his arm in fire. It lasted for al least a minute. Once over, Raven was left burned by his own attack. The room was quite seriously damaged.

_Damn... I got carried away._

But, when the smoke thinned out, Raven and Reva saw a cone of swords. All those weapons then moved and went for Raven. He somehow managed to block of avoid some, but one of them left a deep wound just above Raven's hip. He fell to the ground, coughing blood. Elsword was unscratched.

"No way..."

But, then, he convulsed, even though only for a moment. The sheat disappeared and, if he didn't supported himself with a sword, he would have fallen. Rena ran over to Raven and looked at his wound.

"This is quite serious..."

"Don't worry, I won't die for th..."

A twinge of pain forced him to silence. Rena looked at Elsword, who was out of breath. In that moment, a magic circle made of light appeared on every wall of the room, floor and ceiling included.

"She has finished, finally" murmured Raven.

Elsword looked around him surprised. A blue, blinding light enveloped him, binding his limbs and preventing it from moving.

"What..."

Aisha appeared in front of him. She seemed tired.

"I'm sorry, Elsword. This will be quite painful"

She outstretched her arm towards the knight and leaned her hand on his chest. The magic circle flew from the walls to the sorceress's staff and then to her arm, forming new, even more intricate symbols. Then she began to slowy remove her hand. Something black, similar to a fluid, was coming out of Elsword's body. He screamed. It was like his veins were on fire. His hair was turning red, and his eyes were changing color as well.

_It's almost done..._

Then they heard it. An heartbeat.

* * *

Eve suddenly woke up.

"Where..."

She scanned the room she was in.

"This is Rena's room"

Then she noticed something. The necklace... it was no longer shining. She tried to take it off. It didn't resist.

She got up, and heard something.

"Are these... heartbeats?"

* * *

The dark liquid went back into Elsword's body. His hair and eyes dyed black once again, a black mist began to envelop his body. The light binding him broke.

"It's impossible" murmured Aisha before getting thrown back. Rena caught her, preventing her from crashing against a wall.

"What happened?"

"His... his heart... it's gone"

"What?!"

Even Rena lost his cool after hearing something like that.

"What do you mean?! How can he be walking without an heart?!"

"He has a heart. But... it's... it's a piece of a corrupted dragon's heart... why... "

Aisha was completely shocked, to the point of being unable to stand.

"And now..."

Rena couldn't finish the sentence. She took out her sword and tried to block a blow from Elsword, but was sent flying by it. The knight turned to the sorceress and readyed his swords.

"Elsword... "

The two blades went down, seeking fresh flesh and hot blood, but met only hard metal. Raven blocked the sword with his mechanical arm, and Rena threw an orb of wind at Elsword, who was sent flying through the room.

"Aisha! What do we do now?"

She didn't answer.

"Aisha!"

"... nothing. That thing... it can't be removed from his chest without killing him..."

"Then we can do nothing but kill him"

"But he's Elsword! You can't kill him!"

"The Elsword I knew would have never pointed his sword at you, no matter what you did"

She didn't know how to answer.

Rena walked near Raven.

"You can't fight with this wound. You're losing too much blood. We should try to settle this without fighting"

"Do you really think we can get away without fighting? After coming this far?"

"... "

Elsword was standing there, staring at them.

"This is troublesome" he said. But it wasn't Elsword's voice "Those guys are dangerous. I should kill them. But... "

He scanned his own body.

"My host's body won't last long if this keeps up. Maybe I should just leave"

Then he watched them again. A sorceress, an elf and a badly injured man.

"... I should at least kill that mage. She's a bit too dangerous"

He began to walk towards them, a sword in each hand. He stopped in front of Rena.

"I want that woman's life. Step aside, elf"

"Who are you?"

"It has nothing to do with you"

They faced each other for a moment, then their swords crossed. Rena should have been faster, but she was too worried about what was going on to fully focus on the battle. Elsword - or whoever was using his body - grabbed her and pushed her back and thrusted his sword in her leg without taking it out, leaving her nailed to the floor. Rena screamed in pain.

Elsword turned and avoided a weak blow from Raven, then punched him on his wound. That was enough to make him faint. He then walked over to Aisha, but was met by a lightning. He began to tremble. Truth be told, he didn't have many external wounds, but after using the sheat while injured and suffering that spell, he was at his limit.

"Now stop, Elsword!" shouted Aisha, tears rolling down her face.

"Sorry, he's not here at the moment"

Then, a gunshot echoed in the room, followed by other five. The knight laid his hand on his chest. He was bleeding. Chung was at the door, trembling. Half of the bullets missed their target, but the others hit. The recoil made the chaser lose his weapon.

The knight turned to him.

"You...!"

A single, deadly sword appeared in the air and flew towards Chung. Aisha tried to do something, but she couldn't do it in time. Chung's arm was severed. However, he didn't have enough strenght to scream.

Another sword appeared in the air, but this time it was blocked by a wall of ice appeared in front of it's target.

Elsword turned to Aisha once again.

"Elsword"

An unexpected voice called out to him.

"You're his woman... ?"

Elsword fell on his knees, holding his head with his left arm.

"Shut up!" he shouted, but he wasn't speaking to her "I'm trying to help you out here!"

_I never asked you to do this! Besides, this is a personal matter! You have no reason to interfere!_

"No reason?! You... ungrateful brat!"

There was another loud heartbeat. The mist enveloping him faded away. He tried to get back on his feet, but he had no strenght left. Eve ran up to him and helped him standing.

"This... is this my fault?" she asked.

"No, Eve... not at all... "

He noticed her necklace was no longer there.

"Let's go back, Elsword"

"... yes..."

An half destroyed door appeared from the floor. Eve opened it.

"... where are you going?" asked the sorceress, even though she already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry, Aisha. I think we won't see each other again"

She moved a step toward the door, but a shout stopped her.

"Eve! Don't go! Eve!"

It was Chung.

"Don't do this, Chung. Don't make me do it again"

"Eve..."

"... I'm sorry. But I rejected you years ago"

"Eve... Eve..."

She walked away, togheter with Elsword. The door closed behind them and disappeared, leaving only a scream full of despair.

"Eveeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

* * *

**Author's notes**

**This was... quite messy, I think. Still, I kinda liked it. I tried to make it longer, but... it really is harder than I expected.**

**What happened to Elsword, and what his "job" is, will be explained in the next chapter. Also, there will soon be lemon. Probably.**

**See you at chapter eight!**


	8. Explanations

**Chapter 8**

When he woke up, Chung was in Rena's bed. The elf was looking at him, worried. Her leg was banded. He tried to support himself with his arms, but fell. He looked at his right arm. It was missing. Only a small portion of it was still linked to the shoulder. The rest was lost. He was banded as well.

"Eve... where is Eve?"

"You should be worrying about your own condition right now"

"Where is she?"

"... she went back to where Elsword brought her"

He tried to get up from the bed, but Rena stopped him.

"You can't move yet. For now, you must rest"

It seemed like he understood. Truth is, he was... shocked. No. What he felt was more like a sense of... of having been betrayed. Rena left the room.

"Eve... "

* * *

Aisha was treating Raven's wounds when Rena walked in.

"How is he?"

"His condition is serious, but... he will survive. He is strong"

"And... Eve? What do you plan to do about..."

"Nothing" the sorceress interrupted the elf "I won't do anything. She left us for his own will"

"She did it to protect us"

"No. I saw it. Her eyes, when she left... those weren't the eyes of someone who is protecting her friends"

"And Elsword..."

"He died. Five years ago"

"But..."

Aisha looked up at Rena, and the elf saw it. The sorceress's eyes. They were... empty.

"Sennar will be back soon. I should try to clean the mess we did" she said before walking away.

* * *

Elsword was lying on his bed, with Eve and Seliet looking at him.

"He won't die. But... he probably won't wake up for at least half a week"

"There are a few things I want to know"

"I'll tell you everything, mistress. But there is something you need to see first"

He walked out of the room, with Eve following him. A quite large crowd of demons met them out of Elsword's room. They asked about their lord's condition. Seliet reassued them and gave several tasks. After ordering four of them to guard Elsword until he woke up, he left. Eve walked behind him.

"What is his "job"?" And what does he have inside his chest?"

"I'll tell you the whole story. Just, wait a little bit"

They reached the basement of the castle. The air was heavy. There were no demons around. He leaded her through a small hallway, and then into an huge room. There, she saw it. An heart. A great, dark, still beating heart, floating at the centre of the room. From it, obscure streams of energy flew into the walls and into a small, red heart, placed on a grim-looking pedestal. It was still beating, despite being pierced by it's own support.

"This land is located to the east, inside what's called "The Kingdom of the Five Knights". Thousands of years ago, a great, corrupted, ancient dragon ruled over this land. He was extremely powerful, and achieved many military successes against the other kingdoms which exists in this world. But the feudal lords were unhappy of his guide and greatly annoyed by his attitude. The dragon was selfish and arrogant. He often broke his promises, sometimes without a reason. As his behavior got worse and worse, the feudal lords betrayed him and marched with their armies towards the dragon's stronghold. The siege lasted twelve years, during which the country was looted and destroyed by the other kingdoms. After the great dragon's defeat, the lords found themselves in a plight. Most of them died, and the ones who survived couldn't defend what was left of the country and rebuild it at the same time. And so, they decided to use the dragons' powers. They crushed his brain and conveyed the energy left in his corpse inside his heart, his wings, his claws, his eyes and his skull. Then, five of the lords left their lands to their comrades and took a part of what was left of the dragon's corpse inside their bodies. Using his powers, they led what was left of the armies for almost two hundred years to defend the land, while their comrades were rebuilding it. The five lords came to be known as the Five Knights. After a hundred more years, a new order was established. The Five Knights settled at the four corners of the nation, with one of them at the centre. They built their own stronghold and armies. The other lords established five councils, one for each area of the land. Since then, the Five Knights protect this land from every kind of threat, be it internal or external. The Knights are prevented from aging by the dragon's powers, but they can still be killed. When one of them died in battle, the councils chose a successor. After he received the approval of the other four knights, the dragon's corpse was transplanted inside his body from his predecessor's one"

He then pointed at the small heart beating on the pedestal.

"This was my lord's heart. He appeared four years ago. Everyone could feel a great darkness from him, as well as a great power. He said he wanted to become one of the Knights. This caused a ruckus. It was the first time someone appearead out of the blue and said something like that. The original Knights were all since long gone, except for the Knight of the Eyes. Among the feudal lords, only one of those who slayed the dragon is still alive. There had already been a case in which a woman gave up his humanity to join the Knights, and because of this, they were intersted in a second one joining them. Only two of the five councils approved him, but all the Knights decided to test him. He gained their trust. But all five of them were alive. So, the Knight of the Heart, who was the weakest among them, decided to challenge my lord to a duel to the death, with his role as Knight at the stake. Under the gaze of the other Knights, the black-haired man defeated his opponent and killed him. With that, only one year after his appearence, he took the role of the Knight of the Heart and become the lord of this castle. For the following three years, he had no time to rest. He had not only to familiarize with his role, his duties and us, his army, but he had to keep the land safe from invasions. Also, there are those, among the feudal lords he and his new comrades defend, who wants their powers, so they have to guard themselves even from them. Then, one day, my lord told me he was going to get married. The following day, he brought you here"

Eve was... shocked by what she had just heard.

"But... why did he join the Five Knights?"

"He never told me that. Maybe the other Knights know the reason. But... I'm sure he'll tell you why, if you ask him, mistress"

She stared first at the small and then at the great heart.

_There's still something I don't get. Who was Elsword talking to, inside the tower?_

* * *

Chung was walking inside a forest. His wounds weren't healed yet, but he didn't care. He left his destroyed at the tower. With one arm gone, he wasn't able to properly use it anymore. He was walking, but he had no place to go. He kept walking for three days, before falling to the ground. He didn't eat or drink anything. His injuries reopened. His eyes were blank. After being rejected twice from her, there was nothing he wanted to see.

It was raining.

_So... I'm going to die here..._

"What a pitiful sight" someone said.

Chung raised his glance and saw a woman. She was pale, though not as much as Eve, and quite tall. Her hair, which was of a fascinating shade of black, was extremely long, almost enough to touch the ground. She was wearing a long, black dress full of golden and silvery embroideries. She was holding a grim-looking umbrella to shield herself from the rain.

_Who is she... who cares..._

He left his head fall on the ground again.

"Don't ignore me"

"... what do you want?"

"The question, here, is what you want"

"I lost all I wanted to have"

"There is one thing left"

"What?"

"Revenge"

Chung tried to get back on his feet, but fell on his knees.

"I caught your interest, I would say"

"What do you mean?"

"I know your story. Poor child. She rejected you, and you somehow dealt with it. But then? She went away with another man. And who is that man? Someone who betrayed his friends, who betrayed you, and took her away from you. Can you really stand this? Looking at you, I would say that you can't"

Chung remained silent.

"I'll help you. I'll give you the power you need. I'll even give you a new arm, and maybe something more. And once you're ready, I'll bring you where they are. Tell me what you need to have to get your revenge, and I'll give it to you"

"Why are you offering me this much?"

"You don't need to know"

The rain became more dense.

"... so? Do you accept?"

Chung outstretched his remaining arm.

"Yes. Grant me my revenge"

They shaked hands.

"Very well!"

Two pairs of black, feathered wings appeared on the back of the woman, and a mark, similar to a rotten wing, appeared on Chung's forehead.

* * *

Eve walked inside Elsword's room. It had been half a day since he woke up. He would have probably got up on his legs within the following three days.

Eve sat on the bed, near him.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. At least, that's what I'd like to say... I really got beaten up, didn't I?"

"Your lieutenant told me everything about your "job" and how you got it"

"I see. Well, I would have told you about it soon anyway"

"He also showed me the two hearts"

"I wanted to show them to you before... well... all that mess happened"

"But... there are two things I don't undestand yet"

"You're free to ask"

"Who was the one who used your body at the tower?"

"... this is something only we Knights know. The ancient dragon... he's dead, but his consciousness is still in this world. In order to use his powers, we allow a small part of him to live inside of us. This way, he doesn't completely die and we get to use what were his true powers. There is an agreement between us Knights and his consciousness. We allow him to use our bodies if we need his help, but only if it's something related to our "job". He shouldn't have intervene at the tower"

"... the second question. Why... why did you take this burden, these responsibilities on your shoulders?"

He looked at her, quite amazed by that question, then bursted laughing. He stopped immediately because his ribs and lungs hurt.

"What's so funny about it?"

"Well, it's just... isn't it obvious?"

He grabbed her face and brought it near to his.

"This was the only way for me to stay by your side for all eternity"

After hearing this, she blushed and turned away.

"... when?"

"What?"

"When is our... marriage?"

A smile appeared on Elsword's face. It was a smile so big that one would question the structure of his face, since it almost literally went from ear to ear.

"I received yesterday the response of the last guest. It will be held as soon as I heal. By the way, don't expect anything pompous. I don't really like ceremonies too formal or too many guests"

"Who is this person you invited?"

"My sister"

"... what?"

* * *

**Author's notes**

**And eight's out too! Yeah! The story is getting quite close to the end. I think.**

**The next chapter will contain lemon. I swear it. Just... it's my third time writing about sex (and the first one in english), and since I'd like to make it the least vulgar I can, but hot and quite long as well, it will probably take me quite some time to write it.**

**See you at chapter nine!**


	9. First Night Together

**Chapter 9**

"Your... sister?"

"Yes, Elesis. You've met her before, right?"

"No. I didn't"

"Oh... well, I'll introduce you to her before the marriage"

"Leaving presentations aside, does she know what your current situation is?"

"Of course. I kept in touch with her for the last five years, she already knows everything"

"But... I thought your sister was a demon slayer"

"Oh, she is. But only of evil ones"

"... that sounds way too convenient... "

"I'm defending a country, you know? Be it populated by humans or demons, I'm not doing anything wrong"

"I guess you're right"

* * *

Elsword was sitting at a large, round table, together with thirteen other demons, most of whom human-shaped. He hadn't completely healed yet, but the feudal lords didn't notice anything. The meeting went on smoothly and ended soon.

"Well then, I'll take my leave" said Elsword while getting up.

The others did the same. The gaze of the knight fell on a woman with four black, feathered wings. She was one of the feudal lords. She never clearly declared it, but she didn't really like Elsword. Truth be told, there were was a number of demons who were still suspicious about him. He was well aware of that. After all, he's been there for only three years. And for demons, whose life is much longer than human's one, that time was extremely short.

He noticed there was an hooded man waiting for her at one of the doors. He probably was her bodyguard. But, if memory served him correctly, that was the first time she went to one of the meeting with someone escorting her. Also, there was something familiar about that hooded person. But Elsword paid it no mind, and went back to his stronghold.

When he got back to his castle, Eve was waiting for him at the main entrance.

"How did it go?"

"There were no problems. They noticed nothing, so I had to explain nothing"

It would have been a problem if the lords found out one of the Knight got injured that bad for something unrelated to his work.

"My sister will be here tomorrow"

"Ok"

* * *

Eve was in a relatively small and unusually well illuminated room, which somewhat resembled a temple. She walked out and went to the main entrance. There she met Elsword and his sistes, Elesis. She was a beautiful woman, slightly taller than her younger brother. Her hair, which was very long, was of a dark shade of red, like her eyes. She was wearing... a dress? Or maybe an armor. It was hard to tell. Maybe it was both. Also, she was carrying a great, chiseled sword on her back.

"So you are Eve? I'm Elesis, this hothead's big sister. I finally get to meet you. Elsword kept talking about you for the last four years "

"Really?" asked Eve.

They shaked hands and walked inside. Elsword's soldiers sometimes looked at the woman, quite intrigued by her presence, but they soon got back to whatever they were doing.

"Will the ceremony last more than two minutes?" asked Elesis to Elsword.

"... I don't think... "

"Well, you have always had trouble to organize even a simple dinner, but I never complained. I won't start today"

"Could you please stop talking bad about me in front of my wife?"

"Come on, I'm joking. Well, not entirely"

Eve listened to their conversation. She wasn't sure about how to behave with that woman, so she simply kept staring at her.

When they arrived at the room Eve left half an hour before, Elesis stepped aside, with the only other guest, who was a woman the Knight of the Heart didn't expected to be there. Truth his, he originally wanted Raven and the others to be there. But after what happened... there was no way they would have come. Elsword and Eve walked to the centre of the room, where two black crowns were resting on a pedestal.

Elsword took both of them and knelt before Eve. Then, offering her one of the two crowns, he spoke.

"I ask you, Eve, do you want to stand by my side until the end of eternity, and even after?"

Eve held out her hand.

"I promise you, no matter what happen to us or to the world around us, I'll stay by your side forever"

Elsword took her hand and placed one of the two crowns on it. The crown then turned into a ring of dark steel around Eve's ring finger. Elsword then took the other crown and placed it on his own hand. The second crown transformed like the first one. Elsword got up and embraced Eve, and they kissed. The two guests applauded. The ceremony was over.

_This was faster than I expected. Much faster. _thought Elesis.

Elsword and Eve walked down to the other two people, and the Knight turned to the woman with blue hair, who was wearing a blue dress. Her eyes looked like... no, they were actually made of amber.

"I didn't expect you to be here, Aoi"

"Who is she?" asked Eve.

"I'm the Knight of the Eyes, one of your husband's workmates" the woman introduced herself "It's a pleasure to meet you"

"Oh, the pleasure is mine" answered Eve while shaking hands with her.

The four of them chatted for a while, then a scream echoed through the castle.

"Coooooooommmaaaaaaaannnndeeeeeeeeeerrrrr!"

"This is my lieutenant..." said Elesis.

A tall, young-looking girl entered the room, followed by a bunch of demons who tried to stop her but failed to catch her. She was wearing white and red, oriental-looking clothes, and was carrying a long spear on her back. Her hair was black and long, and her eyes were amber. She was out of breath. She probably ran all the way there from who knows where. Elesis walked over to her, under the gaze of the three people she was talking with.

"What's wrong?"

The girl said something in response, but they didn't hear her. Elesis walked back to Elsword and the others.

"I'm sorry, but I must take my leave now"

"Did something happen?"

"A meeting scheduled for tomorrow has been brought forward to today, and I can't miss it"

"Looks like you're busy just like us" commented the Knight of the Eyes.

"Maybe more" the sword-carrying woman answered ironically.

Elesis walked over to Elsword and handed him a small vial of glass, then whispered something in his ear.

"This is for when you two are alone in the bedroom. Consider it my wedding gift"

Elsword blushed slightly.

"I don't need something like this"

"Then don't use it"

Elesis winked at him and walked away, followed by the young, spear-carrying girl.

"What's that?" asked Eve, pointing at the vial.

"Oh, it's nothing" he answered with fake indifference while putting it inside a pocket.

The three of them chatted for five or then more minutes, then Aoi left as well, saying she had some business to deal with. After that, Elsword took Eve in his arms.

"Hey, I can walk by myself"

"We've just got married, let me spoil you a little"

"... ok"

"Perfect"

He carried her to their bedroom, where he let her down on the bed. While Eve was looking the other way, Elsword took out the vial and placed it on a furniture.

_... maybe next time._

He then walked over to her and gently pushed her down on the bed. He cherished her hair and smelled it, slowly.

She knew what was going to happen. Elsword made it clear the day she slapped him. Well, she slapped him because he made it even too clear.

He reached for her lips, and kissed her, taking his time to savor her taste. She was cold. She wasn't made of flesh, after all. He then began to lick her neck, gesture which made her blush. He undid the upper part of her dress and removed her bra, revealing her petite breast. He slowly massaged her, while kissing her again.

_So... that day, Chung touched this body... he tasted her..._

He moved one of her arm and smelled her armpit.

"This is... embarassing..." said Eve.

He moved his hand, from her chest down on her belly, until it reached her intimate spot. A soft moan escaped from her lips, but it was stifled by another intense kiss. She began to sweat lightly. With his free hand, he drew her even closer. They could feel each other's breath. As Elsword kept pleasuring her with his fingers, Eve arched her back. But then, she grabbed him and swapped their positions, getting on top of him.

"Hey"

"I prefer to be on top" she said with a smile.

"Too bad. I prefer that too" he answered. He tried to get back on top, but Eve prevented him from doing so.

"Not so easily"

_Ok, I didn't expect this._

She undid his shirt and forced a kiss on the lips. Then grabbed his hand.

"I didn't tell you to stop"

"... no, you didn't..."

Following that... order? He left her place his hand between her legs once again. She then bit his hear.

"Ouch. Eve..."

"Shut up"

His face turned red. Eve began to lick his ear, but Elsword grabbed her shoulders and got on top of her again.

"Enough with the foreplay"

_Already? _thought Eve.

She felt something hard hitting her.

"Wait a..."

He joined her. Eve moaned louder.

_She's mine, now. Mine alone._

They danced together, feeling each other's sweath and breath. But then, Eve asked him something.

"Elsword, are... is this your first time?"

He paused for a moment.

"W-why do you ask?"

She laughed, making him blush.

"What's..."

He couldn't finish his sentence. Eve had grabbed him and swapped their positions, getting on top again.

"I had no doubts about me being more experienced than you, but I didn't think there was such a big gap between you and me" she teased him while resuming to move her hips.

He embraced her.

"There's no way I would have done this with someone other than you"

She blushed.

"Then be sure to satisfy me" Eve said with a smirk.

They kept moving until they both reached climax. Elsword then flopped down on the bed, breathing hard. But Eve clinged onto him, whispering.

"Come on, we still have plenty of time"

Elsword looked at the small vial he left over one of the furnitures.

_Maybe I should have drunk that, after all..._

The following morning, Eve was way more full of energy than her husband.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**Honestly, I think I've just realized I'm not suited for writing lemon. I mean, it took a lot of effort to write something this short, and I even rewrote the whole thing three times before getting to this result, but I still think it's kind of... disappointing. Also, I'm not that sure about that "they danced together", but I found no better way to say it.**

**Please, tell me what do you think about this chapter. I'd really appreciate it.**

**I hope I didn't disappoint you with this chapter.**

**P.S. You know what's funny? At first all I wanted was to write about Eve having sex, but then I thought "You can't just write about her having sex without some sort of plot" And so, all this story came out. And the sex scene went from main argument to short filler. I think it's funny. Really.**


	10. The Chaser's Last Act

**Chapter 10**

A week passed since the ceremony took place.

Aoi was working at a pile of documents on her desk when Elsword's image appeared in front of her.

"I thought our next meeting was next month"

"I have a favor to ask you, Aoi"

She put down the sheets she was reading.

"What do you need?"

"Some of your spy eyes"

"... is one of the feudal lords acting in a suspicious manner?"

"Not only that, but... yes"

"Ok. I'll send you some within the end of the week"

"Thank you"

His image disappeared. The amber-eyed woman went back to her work, whistling.

* * *

Chung was waiting, sitting on a chair in a dark room. Red light came in through the window, dyeing his blue and white armor in crimson. The right side of his body was covered by a mantle. When the winged woman walked in, he stood up.

"How long do you plan to stay here doing nothing?" she asked him, clearly annoyed.

"All the time needed. I can't just break into his castle from the main entrance. Not with his army there. I wouldn't stand a chance"

"We have an agreement. Don't forget it"

At this, he laughed, bothering the woman.

"Come on" he said, pointing at the mark on his forehead "you're the one who put this on me, you know that I can't break the contract"

"Is it really that amusing?"

"No, it isn't"

"Then why are you laughing?"

"You're not as smart as you think you are. That's why"

The woman refrained from hitting Chung. Also because, if she did so, she would be the one getting hurt.

"I've kept an eye on him. If things go smoothly, I'll act within the next week"

"If you say so"

The winged woman left, unable to stand Chung's presence anymore. The chaser looked ad the window. There was a small, almost trasparent eye floating at the base of the window, looking inside. Chung grinned.

"One more week, Elsword. You'd better be prepared" he said while pointing one of his guns at the small eye.

* * *

Elsword was sitting on his throne, listening to his soldiers's reports when several small eyes entered the room and floated towards him.

"Seliet, listen to the rest of the reports and tell me if there is anything I must know. Now I have to check some recordings" he said to his lieutenant while getting up.

"As you command"

The Knight walked to his room, followed by the floating eyes. When he entered, he sat on a chair and took one of them in his hand. He placed it in front of his right eye. From the floating eyeball, several needles pierced the Knight's one. Blood poured from it as the spy eye sent him all the images it had recorded. Once it had finished, the needles disappeared and he put the eyeball on a table.

_Now I get why Aoi's eyes are made of amber._

He took another one and placed it in front of his other eye, to let the first one heal, and repeated the process with all the spy eyes. When he had finished, his eyes ached.

He decided to take all the eyes to the next meeting with the feudal lords. What was recorded inside there was enough to prove that that woman was plotting something against him with some lords from the near kingdoms. A whole conversation between her and a foreign messenger had been registered.

"I guess being the Knight of the Eyes is very comfortable, having these things always at hand..."

In that moment, Eve walked in. She was dirty of oil and soot, as well as her two repaired drones. Her hair was a bit singed and her dress quite messed up, but apart from all that, she was fine.

"... what happened?"

"A small part of the core exploded while I was working at it. Nothing serious"

"How is your work going?"

"Bad. I tried using the energy of the Heart to restart it, but the main system crashed. At this point, I might be able to build an high-quality nasod or two using what's left of the king and the core's programs, but nothing more"

She noticed the eyes floating on the table and the traces of blood on Elsword's face, and questioned him about it.

"I'll explain it at the next meeting. You can come with me, if you want"

"I'll think about it"

She walked over to a door which led to a small room while taking her clothes off.

"I'll take a shower"

"May I come in with you?"

"I thought you had work to do"

"That can wait"

In that moment, Seliet knocked at the door.

"My lord, I've finished listening to the reports. There is something you must hear"

_What a bad timing..._

He got up and walked to the door.

"What is it?"

"The soldiers patrolling the border noticed some movements of the near kingdom's army"

"Them again... I'll go check that myself. Prepare an incubus"

"As you command"

He reentered his room, took the floating eyes and put them inside the drawer of a cabinet. He then spoke to Eve, who was still in the other room.

"I'll be out for a while"

"Ok"

After a while, Eve came out of the shower, wearing a towel. Her drones, turned into two hairdryer, were drying her. She opened a wardrobe. Inside it were the clothes she used before being brought there. They had been repaired, but...

"... why are they white?"

* * *

After two days, Elsword had not yet came back. Instead, most of the soldiers had left the castle. There was probably something big going on on the border.

Eve was walking between the remnants of the Nasod King, pondering how to avoid another explosion during the next experiment, when Moby automatically turned into a shield and blocked a bullet aimed at Eve's head. She turned, surprised by what just happened. Chung was there, leaning against a wall, a gun in his left hand.

"... Chung?"

"I know that the castle is almost empty now, and that nobody would ever try to sneak inside, but I still think the security here is really poor"

"Why are you here?"

"Do I really need to answer?"

He pointed his gun and casually fired another shot, which was once again blocked by Eve's drones.

"... so you're not joking"

"I've never really liked jokes"

"I guess you're right. But... what do you think you can do, with only one arm left?"

"With one? Nothing, I would say"

He took his cloack off. There was... something hidden under it. It was similar to an insane tangle of veins and guts, covered by an half-transparent layer of skin and shaped like an arm.

"That's why I'm going to use both"

Eve looked at that... thing.

"What... what's that, Chung?"

"Honestly, I don't feel like explaining it" he answered. Another gun appeared from the air, out of a small, blue gate which closed as soon as Chung grabbed the second weapon with his new arm. He then pointed both his guns at her.

"This is the first time" he said, a grin difficult to interpret on his face.

"Which first time?"

"The first time I fight a woman with the purpose of killing her"

* * *

Elsword was talking with Seliet, near the border with the neighboring country, when he felt something, for a moment.

"Is something wrong, my lord?"

"... no, it was nothing"

* * *

Chung took cover behind a part of the Nasod King's head to avoid an hail of bullets fired from Eve's drones, now shaped into a gatling. He reloaded his guns and went back to aim at Eve. He emptied one of the cartridge at her in an istant, four bullets aimed at her legs and two at her shoulders. She dodged three of them and blocked the others with Moby, while Reby was sent flying at Chung, shaped into a spear enveloped in electricity. The chaser grazed it and pointed his other gun at Eve. His weapon shone, and a silvery ray of energy erupted from his gun. Eve partly dodged it, and partly blocked it with Moby. Then she disappeared in the air. Chung put his helmet on and tried to find her, but before he could do it, he heard a sound at his right. He turned and instinctively fired a shot, but what he hit was a light-made copy of Eve, which exploded. It didn't hurt him much, but it left him stunned for a second. Chung's shoulder was grabbed. In front of her, Eve appeared in front of him, four mechanical, spear-like wings on her back.

_Damn!_

A storm of blows fell on him. Both Moby and Reby, aided by several flying spears, hit Chung at least an hundred times before a stronger blow sent him flying back. But before he could land, a whip grabbed him. Eve smashed him to the ground, and then the whip exploded. Before the smoke could thin out, Moby and Reby took the form of a rocket launcher, and Eve fired a missile were Chung was. After the explosion, she waited for the smoke to fade. Then, she saw the chaser standing. His armor was severely damaged, and a good part of it was gone. He was bleeding. But his Destroyer was in front of him. It probably shielded him from the last blow, though Eve wasn't sure where it popped out from or when. Chung grabbed his bazooka and lifted it, then pulled both the triggers. Two storms of missiles flew from his weapon. A few exploded against the remains of the Core and of the Nasod King before properly aiming at Eve. She sent both her drones, and several spears, to destroy them before they could reach her, but some managed to reach her. The explosion sent her flying. Just as she landed, four bullets pierced her right leg, making her fall on her knees, another one hit her left shoulder and a last one grazed her head. From the wounds, something similar to oil, but of the same color of blood, came out. One of her drones turned into some sort of exoskeleton around her injured limb, to help her standing. She got up and shut down a part of her pain nerves.

They stared into each other eyes.

"Do you want to continue?"

"You can always surrender" Eve mocked him.

She noticed that Chung's right arm had changed. It was... it looked like it was rotting. And not only it, but also his shoulder, which should have been... well, human.

"Your arm..."

"I told you I don't feel like explaining it"

He reloaded his weapons and pointed them at Eve.

"Let's finish this"

"Ok"

Several huge turrets appeared behind Eve. They were of all kind: missile launchers, laser turrets, gatlings, and even more. Chung pointed his guns. All he needed was a single strike. If even just one of his twelve bullets managed to reach the target, he would have won. Eve pointed at him, and the artillery behind her began to fire. A savage, raging storm of almost every kind of bullet and rocket Chung could think of fell on the area, trying to hit him. He ran like crazy, in the desperate attempt of avoiding all of that. He fired two shots, but both the bullets got blocked by the storm of blows raging around him. An hail of bullets pierced his left arm when he fired two more shots, leaving him with only one gun left. The two bullets got blocked like the first ones. The following three shots weren't luckier than the others. His armor, or what was left of it, somehow prevented him from receiving fatal wounds, but it was almost completely gone. Then, he saw a small opening in the hell raging around him. He pointed his gun. It shone with great intensity, before releasing his last bullet. It flew at insane speed towards Eve, leaving behind itself a silvery trail. Eve's right shoulder got pierced, and her arm almost fell off. She fell to the ground. The turrets behind her disappeared, maybe because they had run out of ammo. A scream escaped from her before she could shut down the nervers of the right part of her body.

Chung stood there, breathing heavily, covered in his own blood.

_With the mess we did, the demons left here will arrive soon... and I'm in no condition to fight them._

He limped over to Eve. Half of his body had rotten, and his right arm was falling to pieces.

_I... must... hurry..._

He reached her. She stared at him, wondering how could he still be able to move. He took out a small knive he kept under what was left of his armor.

"Don't worry, Eve. I'll come with you within the next minutes"

"That's not comforting at all" she answered, contemptuous.

Chung's hand went down, aiming for her head. But, a moment before the blade could touch her skin, someone grabbed Chung's arm from behind.

* * *

**Author's notes**

**First thing is: I'm sorry I took so long to update this. My favorite dakimakura shop closed, and I had to find another one. Among other things.**

**The next chapter will be last one.**

**See you there.**


	11. Graveyard

**Last Chapter**

Chung turned. Behind him were a stone-made door, appeared from nowhere, and Elsword.

"What a shame..." the chaser said.

"Chung... you..."

Elsword didn't know what to say. He squeezed Chung's arm, to the point of grabbing directly it's bone. But, apparently, the chaser had lost sensibility of that limb. Eve was still on the floor, her self-repairing systems working at full speed.

"What does the mark on your forehead means?"

"I think you already know that"

"I want to hear it from you"

"Well..."

Chung's arm fell apart. Literally. He couldn't support himself anymore, and fell first on his knees and then on the ground. Elsword helped Eve to stand.

"Thank you"

"I'm sorry. As a man, I should have protected you"

"I'm not the kind of woman who needs protection. Though it sounds quite weird, looking at my current state"

In that moment, a couple of dozens of demons entered the room, which was utterly devastated, attracted by the sounds of the explosions.

"I can't stay here, I have something important to do. Can you..."

"Don't worry" she answered while holding her dangling arm.

"... ok"

He walked away, leaving a demon to help her to stand, back into the door he came out from. The door disappeared a few istants later.

The other demons surrounded Chung, their weapons pointed at him, and waited for orders.

"I'd like an explanation, Chung"

"Well, I guess it doesn't cost me anything"

He told her about his encounter with that winged woman in the forest. After that, he was brought to the Demon World. There, he received a new, demonic arm. The contract he did with her obliged him to "achieve his revenge", but that woman was sure he wanted to kill Elsword, not Eve. If it wasn't so, she wouldn't have got in contact with him, since the one she wanted to see dead was the Knight of the Heart. Basically, he became an assassin. Breaking the contract would have resulted in his death.

However, that arm was a biological prosthesis thought for demons. In normal conditions, his human body could have bore it for some months, but he couldn't possibly sustain more than one fight.

He waited for Elsword to leave the castle with his army. Well, in case that didn't happen, he was ready to break in and try to kill Eve regardless of it being an hopeless attempt. But, thanks to that woman, he got his chance. Elsword was out because the army of the neighboring kingdom was on the move towards that country, and he had to stop them.

"This is, broadly, it. But I can't understand why Elsword came back"

"Do you know why this castle is almost unguarded?"

"I don't really care"

"It's because it's lord can sense the presence of any demons within these walls. And if someone who is not a demon get in without the lord's consent, a curse slowly kills the intruder. Your new arm protected you from the curse, but it's also what made Elsword sense your presence here"

"... how unlucky..."

Chung raised his gaze.

"Say, Eve... where are you? I can't see you"

She was right in front of him.

"... you should sleep now"

"Well, I guess you're right. Wake me up when Elsword come back. I think he'll have a few things he want to tell me"

"... Chung..."

"See you next time, Eve. I'm glad I met you, after all"

The chaser closed his eyes. And they never opened again.

"... idiot..."

* * *

At the next meeting, Elsword presented the evidences of that woman's guiltiness. She had been plotting with neighboring countries and sent an assassin to take one of the Knights down. No need to say she didn't show up at that meeting. Her lands got assigned to a new lord, chosen by the council. The woman got caught while she was trying to cross the border of the kingdom to escape, and was executed a few days later.

Elsword brought what was left of Chung's corpse to Raven, and told him everything.

"I know I don't really have the right to say this, but... could you not tell this to Aisha? I don't know how she would react"

"You don't need to tell me that"

"... thank you"

He turned.

"I have a question, Elsword"

"Ask away"

"The things you have now... do they really worth more than what you've lost?"

"Yes, Raven"

"... goodbye, Elsword. I hope I won't see you again"

"... I see..."

With that, they parted for the last time, one of them sad, the other resigned.

Raven buried Chung in the middle of the forest, and built a tombstone on which was wrote only his name. "Chung Seiker". He buried his guns with him, and left his Destroyer as a commemorative pillar. It was too damaged to work again anyway.

* * *

Many, many years passed since then. More than half of the feudal lords had been replaced, as well as the Knight of the Wings and the Knight of the Claws. Elsword was still the Knight of the Heart, and Eve was still at his side. Their appearance haven't changed at all. They led what could be called an happy life togheter.

Seliet had died long ago. A new demon took his place. One day, when he entered the throne room, he found only Elsword, working at some sheets.

"My lord, where is the mistress?"

"She went out for a small recurrence. She should be back soon"

He wanted to go with her, but his work prevented him to do so. A while after, a mechanical door appeared in the room and Eve came out of it. Elsword got up and walked towards her. They shared a short but passionate kiss, then Elsword asked her something.

"Is she still there?"

"Yes"

* * *

From an house, built inside a great tree, an old woman came out. It was morning. Wrinkles covered her face, her skin was wrinkled, and her gaze was tired. On her back were a bow and some arrows, while on her side she carried a sword. She had green hair and eyes, and her ears were much longer than human's ones.

In the weak light of the rising sun, she walked over to five tombstones.

One of them was adorned by an extremely old and ruined bazooka. The others were decorated by a black, mechanical hand, a great sword, a spear, a magician's staff and a spear. All the items were unusable, clearly ruined beyond repair.

On four of the graves were some grim-looking flowers. But on the one adorned by the bazooka, was an amaranth.

The elf raised her gaze to the sky, and muttered to herself.

"They came again... maybe, next time, I'll manage to see them..."

**End**

* * *

**Author's notes**

**And this marks the end of my first fanfictio. It didn't go exactly like I hoped to, but I can't really complain about the results. At least, that's what I think. Feel free to disprove me.**

**My next fanfiction will probably be about Kurumi from Date a Live or Oberon from Elsword. I have yet to decide.**

**Thanks for reading my work.**

**Note: the amaranth, in the language of flowers, means despair. At least, that's what internet says.**


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